Friday, January 11, 2008

TCU swimming and diving swept at BYU

By Pegasus News wire

The TCU men's and women's swimming and diving teams both fell to BYU on Thursday in Provo, Utah, in a Mountain West Conference dual meet. The men fell by a score of 140-95, while the women dropped a 126-100 decision.

"Our team competed very hard and I'm happy with our times and where we are in our training right now," said TCU head coach Richard Sybesma.

Seniors Jonathon Berrettini and Scott McCracken highlighted action for the men's squad (4-3, 1-3) on Thursday. Berrettini remained undefeated in dual meets this season in the 100-back, taking the top spot with a time of 50.76. McCracken also stayed unbeaten on the season in the 50-free with a time of 21.07.

The men's divers continued their stellar season on Thursday by sweeping the three-meter event. R.J. Hesselberg won his eighth event of the season by claiming the top spot with a score of 344.10, followed by freshman Kyle Callens in second (280.20). Callens, a native of Deer Park, Texas, placed second in the one-meter with a score of 261.30, followed by Hesselberg's third-place score of 246.52.

TCU also received solid performances from Cameron Allred, Josh Bagby and Jason Hauck on Thursday. Allred grabbed a runner-up finish in the 100-breast with a time of 58.73, while Bagby placed third in the 100-free (46.57) and Hauck finished third in the 200-free (1:44.81).

In relay action, the 200-medley relay team of Berrettini, Allred, Hauck and McCracken placed second with a time of 1:33.34, while the 200-free relay team of Berrettini, McCracken, Ben Iannacone and Bagby finished third in a time of 1:24.59. Thursday's dual meet marked the first time this season that the TCU `A' relay team did not sweep the events.

On the women's side, newcomer Maria Alvarez continued to impress, swimming to a runner-up finish in the 500-free with a time of 5:09.84. In the 200-free, Alvarez grabbed a third-place finish with a time of 1:55.83.

The Frogs fared well in the 100-breast event as fellow newcomer Ellie Bradley placed second in a time of 1:06.46, followed by Katie Rosen in third with a time of 1:07.27.

Natalie Melenric and Mychala Lynch highlighted the butterfly events for the Frogs, placing second and third, respectively, in the 100-fly.

In the sprint events, Lynch swam to a third-place showing in the 50-free with a time of 24.94, while Jessica Miles placed third in the 100-free with a time of 55.27.

In the 100-back event, Brittney Martinez recorded a time of 1:00.83 to finish third, followed by Crystal Shipps in fourth spot with a clocking of 1:01.31.

In the relay events, the 200-medley team of Martinez, Bradley, Melenric and Nikki Pappas swam to a second-place finish in a time of 1:49.40, while the 200-free relay team of Pappas, Lynch, Shannon Jones and Miles placed third with a time of 1:39.98.

The men's and women's swimming and diving teams will return to action on Saturday when they will face Utah at 12 p.m. CT.

Source: TCU

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